Türkiye set to launch 1st homegrown telecom satellite in historic milestone

Türkiye’s first domestic telecommunications satellite, Turksat 6A, will be launched into space Tuesday from the country’s capital to the Cape Canaveral Spaceport in the U.S. state of Florida.

Transport and Infrastructure Minister Abdulkadir Uraloglu and Industry and Technology Minister Mehmet Fatih Kacir will attend the midday ceremony at Murted Airfield in Ankara province.

Following the ceremony, Turksat 6A will be transported aboard an Antonov AN-124 cargo plane to the U.S.

The journey is expected to take approximately a day while launch preparations will begin upon arrival at the SpaceX facilities.

The launch is scheduled for July 8-15.

Upon reaching its orbit at approximately 35,800 kilometers (22,245 miles) from the ground at 42 degrees east, Turksat 6A will expand the coverage area of Turkish satellites to include India, Thailand, Malaysia, and Indonesia – which have a total population of 5 billion.

Numerous agencies and companies are involved in the Turksat 6A project, including the Transport and Infrastructure Ministry, satellite technology firm Turksat, defense industry companies Aselsan and Turkish Aerospace Industries, and the Space Technologies Research Institute of the Scientific and Technological Research Council of Türkiye (TUBITAK).

Türkiye stands among the select countries capable of producing its own communications satellites. With the anticipated success of Turksat 6A, the country aims to transition into a satellite exporter.